Pimiento coring machine



July 13, 1954 Filed June 23, 1950 E. ALTMAN PIMIENTO CORING MACHINE 4Sheets-Sheet l July 13, 1954 E, ALTMAN 2,683,477

PIMIENTO CORING MACHINE Filed June 23, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR fBY l l ATTORNEYS July 13, 1954 E. ALTMAN 2,683,477

PIMIENTO coRING MACHINE y Filed June 23, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet July 13,1954 E. ALTMAN 2,683,477

PIMIENTO CORING MACHINE Filed June 2s, 195o 4 sheets-sheet 4 PatentedJuly 13, 1954 UNITED STATES FFICE PIMIENTO CORING MACHINE Eston Altman,Gray, Ga.

Application June 23, 1950, Serial No. 169,872

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine designed for preparing pimientopeppers for canning, which necessitates removing the seed pods and stemscommonly known as cores, and which have, prior to the present invention,been removed by hand, which is an exceptionally tedious and expensiveoperation.

An important object of the invention is to provide a machine forremoving the cores of pimiento peppers, wherein the mechanism of themachine is used in conveying the pimiento peppers step by step andpositioning them directly under the knives, and which forms a part of mymachine for coring pears, on which the Patent No. 2,588,790, was grantedto me under date of March 11, 1952.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pimiento coring machineincluding tubular coring knives having fingers which grip the core afterthe cutting operation, removing-the core f' from the pimiento.

Still another object of the invention is to provide core knock-outmembers which are movable within the tubular blades of the machine andactuated by cams which are so constructed and timed that after thecoring operation and the tubular blades are elevated for the followingoperation, the core knock-out members will move into action forcing thecores from the tubular knives freeing the knives of the cores, prior tothe succeeding cutting operation to cut the cores from the pimientos.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details ofconstructionand combinations of parts hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may bemade in the construction and arrangement of parts Without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawings Figure `1 is a front elevational view of apimiento pepper coring machine, constructed in accordance with theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmental side elevational view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevational view partly in section, illustratingthe construction of yone of the knives, together with thecore-extracting arms and knock-out member.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the coreremoving arms.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged elevational View of a modied form of knife,portions thereof being broken away illustrating the knock-out memberoperating therein.

Fig. 9 is an elevational view of one of the tubular knives as shown byFig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional View through a modied form of cup inwhich pimiento peppers are deposited for coring.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the machine comprises a stationaryframe including a lower section over which chains 5 operate, the chains5 being in parallel spaced relation with respect to each other andconnected by means of the bars s which provide supports for the cups lin which the pimientos are manually positioned, the pimientos beingcarried step by step under the tubular cutting knives of the machine.

The operating mechanism for moving the cups i between.

At the rear of the machine are vertical bars i D which are braced bymeans of the bars il that extend from the bars 8, to the upper ends ofthe vertical bars lll, as clearly shown by Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The upper ends of the bars 8 and IU, are connected by means of the sidebars I2 which are of lengths to extend beyond'the bars 8 and I,providing supports for an upper frame.

TheV pairs of bars 8 are held in spaced relation with respect to eachother, by means of the trans- Y verse bars I3 Which are disposed invertical spaced relation with respect to each other, the ends of thebars I3 being disposed within the guideways 9, where they are securedagainst movement, by

' means of bolts I4.

. are rectangular frame members l5 each of Which Cil Rising from thebars i2, and secured thereto,

bers i providing supports for the bearings ill in which the cam shaft i9operates, the ends of the cam shaft le' being extended beyond thebearings IS wherein one end of the cam shaft I9 supports the sprocket2). Collars 2l are secured to the shaft i9 and hold the shaft i9 againstlateral thrust.

Mounted on the cam shaft i9 are the cams 22 that contact with therollers 23' mounted in the bearing members 25! that are secured to theupper movable bar 25, which bar has its ends disposed within theguideways i3, maintaining the bar 25 in true horizontal position at alltimes.

As clearly shown by Fig. 2 of the drawings, the

cams 22 which are identical in construction, arel of a shape to providean elongated structure with a gradually curved edge 25 providing asubstantially pointed end 2l to the end that as the cams rotate, at onepoint during the cycles of rotation, the cams will operate to move thebar 25 gradually downwardly, until the pointed ends-of the cams passover the rollers 23, whereupon the bar 25 will snap upwardly, for apredetermined distance, until the rounded end of the cam contacts withthe rollers 23.

Spaced an appreciable distance below the movable bar25, is thevertically movable bar 28 which has its ends moving in the guideways S.This bar 28 is connected with the bar 2i, through the rods 29 whichoperate the knock-out member. While I have shown but one of these rodsin Fig. 1 of the drawings, it is to be understood that there will be acoring blade and knock-out member for each line of cups 'H to the endthat the bars 25 and 28 will be securely held against tilting, by therods 29, which are secured to the bars 25 and E8, by the collars 3B thatare secured to the rod 29 and frictionally engage the bars or bearingsmounted thereon.

Since all of the coring blades and knock-out members used in the machineare identical, only one of these coring blades and knock-out memberswill be described and illustrated in this' application.

The transverse bars i3, which are secured to the bars 8, providesupports for the bearings 3|, through which the tubular bearing 32operates, the tubular bearing 32' extending through the bearing 33,where it supports the pulley 34, whichV is secured to the tubularbearing32. At the lower` end ofthe tubular bearing 32, is mounted the tubularcoring blade 35 to rotate therewith, the coring blade having a sharplower edge 3E to cut the pimiento pepper,A as the blade rotates and ismoved thereinto.

Disposed longitudinally of the tubular coring blade 35 and extendinginwardly from the cutting edge thereof, are slots 3l, which slots havewide end portions 33 in which the wide ends. 3Q of the core grippingarms dii operate, they lowerV ends of the wide ends of the core grippingarms 4H being alsobeveled to provide a circular cutting edge. As clearlyshown by Fig. 5 of the drawings, the core gripping arms are formed withoffset bearings 4l that are mounted between the ears 42 arranged inpairs, at opposite sides of the cutting blade, pivot pins it beingprovided andk extended through the bearings lli and ears t2, pivotallyconnecting the core gripping arms to the tubular coring blade. Thesecere gripping arms are also provided with notches fifi that nt over theportions 45 which are formed substantially intermediate the ends of thetubular blades at points adjacent to the bearing ears 42. The upper endsof the core gripping arms are substantially wide as at 4'3 and are soconstructed that they extend inwardly appreciable distances within thewall of the tubular cutting blade, when the gripping arms are in theirnormal positions as shown by Fig. 5. These wide ends have inclined inneredges l providing cam surfaces, for purposes to be hereinafter morefully described.

Stop pins 48 extend laterally from the core gripping arms and aredesigned to engage the outer surface of the tubular cutting blade torestrict inward movement of the upperends of the core gripping arms. Thelower ends of the core gripping arms rest against the band 4S whichencircles the lower end of the tubular cutting blade, the band 49 beingwelded to the tubular cutting blade.

The reference character 50 indicates a coiled spring which is positionedaround the tubular cutting blade and rests in the recesses 5I formed inthe outer edges of the wide ends 4E, as clearly shown by Fig. 5. Thus itwillbe seen that due to this construction, the coiledv spring 5Enormally acts to urge the upper ends of the core gripping arms'inwardly,but permitsof outward: movement of the upper ends of said core grippingarms under conditions to be hereinafter more fully described.

The rod 29 extends through the tubular vbearing 32 and carriesthe-knock-out head 52 on the lower end thereof, `the upper endofthe rod29 being extended through the bar 25. where it is provided with a stop53y against whichy the coiled spring 54 engages, the springl liractingto normally urge the rod- 29-upwardlyagainst the movable bar 25, whichas previously stated, is'moved downwardly by the actionv of the cams22,the cams being so timed that this downward movement takes place atpredetermined intervals.V

The knock-out head 52 is of a diameter so that when the rod 29V movesupwardly to a point adjacent to the upper end of thevtubular cuttingblade, the head 52 will engage the inclinedv inner edges 4? of the coregripping' arms,v moving `the upper ends thereof outwardly with thevresult that the lower ends thereof -move inwardly into grippingrelationv with the core of the.v pimientov pepper,

which has been cut by the tubular blade, thereby holding. the core sothat upon reverse movement of the'tubular cutting blade'and rodn 29;.theknock.- out head 52 will engage'the core held between l the arms andforce it from itsrposition'. between the arms, clearing the tubularbladefor thet next cutting operation.

It will of course be understood that this reverse movement of theknock-out" head takesplace as the cams 22 move to positions whereinV thesubstantially pointed ends 2l thereof: move over the rollers 23 forcingthe bar 25 and rods 29 connectedl therewith, downwardly;

As clearly shownv by Fig.v lrof the` drawings, thev tubular cuttingblade is supported within the' guide ring 53', the opening 54" ofthe'guide' ring having its wall beveled' so` that it" will' be guided overthe upper end of the pimiento pepper being cored, to hold the pimientopepper against tilting during the coring operation.

Extending from the opposite sides of the guide ring 53', are arms 55,which arms are providedwith openings through which the rods 55 extend,the rods also extending through the tubular bear-- ings that are securedto thel movableba-r 53' at the bottom of the frame, the movable bar.58lhaving its ends disposed within: the guid'eways 9. ,rodsl55 aredisposed' at-oppositesides ofthe" tubular cutters and' move" downwardly'with the downward movement of the rods'29.

The reference character 59 indicates coiled springs that encircle therods 58 bearing against the arms 55 at their lower ends, while the upperends thereof eng-age the lower ends of the tubular bearings 51, thesprings 59 acting to normally urge the guide ring downwardly. At theends f the rods 56, are nuts 68 which secure the rods 56 to the arms 55and the upper ends of the rods to the plates 6| that in turn are securedto the bar 58.

Coiled springs 62 are arranged in pairs at opposite sides of the spacedangle bars 8 and have their upper ends secured to the transverse fixedbar I3 directly below the movable bar 28, by means of the plates 63 thatare secured to the bars I3 and 58 respectively. These springs havehooked ends hooked into eyes of the securing means, in such a Way thatthe springs 62 will normally act to draw the movable bar together withthe elements supported thereby upwardly.

In the form of the invention as shown by Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings,the tubular coring blades 64 are provided with slots extending inwardlyfrom one end thereof, in which the blades 65 are pivotally mounted, thelblades 65 acting in the same capacity as the core gripping arms shownby Figs. 5 and '1 of the drawings. In this form of the tubular coringblades, the blades 65 extend below the beveled cutting ends of thetubular coring blades as shown by Figs. 8 and 9, the cutting ends 66thereof being curved so that they contact the pimiento pepper beingcored, prior to the engagement of 4the beveled cutting edge of thetubular coring blade, to cut the pepper prior to the entrance of thetubular cutting blade, into the pepper.

In Fig. l0 of the drawings, I have illustrated a modified form of cup,in which the upper edge of the cup is provided with an annular flange 61which forms a support for the pimiento pepper after it has been coredand retains the pepper against fallingfrom the cup prematurely.

The frame of the machine also includes space bars 68 that provide asupport for the motor 69 which is provided with the motor shaft 18 onwhich the pulley 1| is secured, the pulley 1| transmitting movement tothe pulley 12 through the medium of the belt 13 that moves thereover.The pulley 12 is mounted on one end of the shaft 14 on which the pulley15 is secured, the pulley 15 rotating the pulley 16 through the mediumof the belt 11 which is shown as moving over the pulleys 15 and 16. Thepulley 16 is secured to the shaft 18 to which the sprocket 19 issecured, the sprocket 19 driving the substantially large sprocket 88through the medium of the chain 8|. The sprocket 8 is secured on one endof the shaft 8| and rotates said shaft 8| on which the sprocket 82 issecured. The sprocket 82 transmits rotary movement to the sprocket 83through the medium of the chain 84 the sprocket 83 being secured to theshaft 85 to which the sprocket 86 is also connected. The sprocket 86transmits rotary motion to the shaft I9 on which cams 22 are secured,through the medium of the sprocket 28 and chain 81 which moves over thesprockets and 86, the chain also movingover the idle sprocket 88. Theshaft 85 provides the support for the cams 88', to which the cams aresecured, the cams 88 operating over the rollers 89 thatV are mounted inbrackets98 adjustablysecured to the movable bar 28, so that with eachcomplete rotation of thecains 88', the movable bar 28 will be moveddownwardly against the action of the springs 62, which springs act toimmediately return the movable section of the machine to its uppermostposition allowing another row of pimientos to be moved under the coringblades.

The coring blad-es which are mounted at the lower ends of the tubularbearings 32 of the machine, are rotated by means of the pulleys 34 whichare secured to the upper ends of the tubular bearings 32, the pulleys 38being rotated by means of the pulleys 88 which are secured to the shaft14 and which transmit movement to the pulleys 34, through the belts 89.

In the operation `of the pimiento coring machine, the machine is set inoperation, and the pimientos are placed by hand, into the cups 1. Thecups now move forwardly from the rear of the machine, towards the frontend of the machine, and because of the shape of the cams 88', the coringblades 35 which are rapidly rotating, are gradually moved into Contactwith the pimiento to be cored. As the cams 88' and 22 continue torotate, the rods 29 of the knock-out heads 52 are moved upwardly, theheads 52 contacting with the inclined inner edges 41 of the wide ends 46of the core gripping arms 40, swinging the lower ends 39 of the coregripping arms 40 inwardly, gripping the core which has been cut by therapidly rotating tubular coring blade. The tubular coring blade is nowelevated to a position above the cored pimiento pepper retain-ed in thecup directly therebelow, and the tubular coring blade begins itsdownward movement for the next operation. When the knockout head 52moves away from lthe enlargements 46 of the core gripping arms, the armsreturn to their normal operative position as shown by Fig. 5, releasingthe core which drops through the machine. It might be further statedthat the shape of the cams 22 is such that an intermittent movement istransmitted to the rods 29 which results in a movement of the knock-outheads to actuate the gripping arms to grip and release the core at su-chtime as to free the tubular coring blades of the c-ores cut, so thatthey will be in a position to continue or repeat the operation, as thepimiento peppers are fed or deposited in the cups.

As the endless chains of coring cups pass over the front end of themachine, it is obvious that the cored pimiento peppers will be droppedtherefrom into containers which may be placed at the delivery end of themachine.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a machine for coring pimiento peppers, a frame, an endless carriermounted on the frame, rows of cups mounted on the endless carrier,vertically movable rotary tubular members mounted within the frame anddisposed above said cups, the lower edges of said tubular members beingbeveled providing cutting blades, said tubular members having slotsextending upwardly from the cutting edges thereof, vertical bladespivotally mount-ed within said slots, each of said blades having a lowercutting end with an edge curved about a horizontal axis disposed beyondthe cutting ends of said tubular members adapted to cut a pimiento priorto the engagement of the pimiento with the cutting ends of said tubularmembers, means for rotating said tubular members and simultaneouslyadvancing said tubular members into said pimientos, and means forejecting the cores from said tubular members.

2. In a machine for coring pimiento peppers, a frame, an endlessconveyor mounted on the frame,

aessfiw r rows ofcups mounted on the endless conveyor into which peppersto be cored are placed, vertically movable rotary tubular members havingtheir lower edges beveled providing cutting ends, said tubular membershavingfslots extending longitudinally from the cuttingv edges thereof,cutting bladespivotally mounted on said tubular inembers and disposedWithin said slots, each of said cutting blades havinga lower cutting endwith an edge curved about a horizontal axis, disposed beyond thecuttingV ends of said tubular members adapted to cut a. pimiento priorto the engagement of, the pimiento with the cutting ends of said tubularmembers extending into the interior of said: tubular members providingcams, knockout n'ienibers7 slidably mounted through said tubularmembers, said knockout members including heads adapted to Contact withsaid wide ends moving the cutting ends of said blades inwardly grippingS the-core removed by said tubular members, means for restrictingoutward movement of said cutting ends of the blades, and means forbiasing the opposite endsof said blades towards each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,016,039 Sawyer et al Jan. 30, 1912 1,448,532 Harding Mar.13, 1923 1,542,470 Nordquist June 16, 1925 2,475,142 Kane, Sr. July 5,1949 2,482,837 Buckner Sept. 27, 1949 2,495,422 Rigney Jan. 24, 195oFOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7,877 Australia June 21, 1927V

